Guide to Direct Marketing

CONSUMER INFORMATION Guide to Direct Marketing

MARKETING FAQS HELPFUL INFORMATION Here you’ll find answers to some of the most commonly asked What are some types of direct marketing? questions about marketing to consumers. Direct marketing occurs in a number of ways, including postal mailings or “direct mail,” telephone contact or “telemarketing,” At Epsilon, we help our clients engage with consumers just like email, text messaging and online advertising. you. We do this through a variety of marketing channels, like direct mail and email. And we rely on information about consumers to Direct mail help our clients send you more relevant offers. When companies You may already be familiar with many types of direct are able to market directly to you, you benefit by potentially marketing delivered through the mail, including catalogs, receiving offers that marketers think are of more interest to you. credit card offers, flyers from local businesses, local restaurant menus, pizzeria coupons and free trial deals. We have put together the questions and answers below to help you better understand the way we work with our clients and the Telemarketing way your information may be used to provide a more relevant Often referred to as telemarketing, companies and marketing offer or message. If you have more questions, don’t nonprofit organizations may contact you by telephone hesitate to ask. We’re here to listen and help you better to sell their products or services, or to get support for understand the benefits of direct marketing and reassure their causes. For example, a travel company may call you about the privacy of your information. you to offer a vacation package.

What is direct marketing? Email Direct marketing is the practice by which businesses and If you have provided a company with your email address nonprofit organizations market their products, services or (perhaps you signed up for email newsletters or purchased causes directly to consumers, based on consumer interests. their products on the internet), the company may send you email advertisements for new products or services, or other Some examples are: direct mail (catalogs, local restaurant offers of interest. menus and free trial deals), telephone, email and internet banner advertising. Online advertising While browsing the internet, you will see banner or “display” What is mass marketing? advertising. For example, if you read the news online, you may Mass marketing is when many consumers receive the same see an advertisement at the top or side of the website. This type message through mass media, such as broadcast television, of advertising — known as internet banner advertising — can radio and newspapers, regardless of consumer interests. be compared to billboards along the side of a road. As you drive Additionally, items such as flyers and the local grocery store down the freeway, you will see billboards advertising products weekly ads that you find in your mailbox are mass marketing. and services. Similarly, as you browse the internet, you will Consumers are unable to opt out of mass marketing but can see ads marketing products and services. Technology enables opt out of direct marketing. companies to show you ads that you may find interesting, in the hope that you click on the ad, seek additional information How does direct marketing benefit consumers like me? or make a purchase. If you have been searching for hotel rooms Direct marketing is meant to speak directly to you, the consumer. in New York City, the next time you’re reading the news online In order to do so, companies need to know about your interests or browsing the internet, you may see an advertisement for a and characteristics. When companies have this type of information, New York City hotel and not a hotel in Los Angeles. you benefit by receiving special offers and promotions, free services and offers that are more relevant to you.

What is direct marketing? Direct marketing is the practice of marketing products or services directly to consumers. It is a more personalized approach than traditional mass marketing where all consumers receive the same message through mass media, such as broadcast television, radio and newspapers. It allows businesses and nonprofit organizations to contact you directly about products, services or causes that might interest to you.

2 CONSUMER INFORMATION Guide to Direct Marketing

How does direct marketing benefit you? PURCHASE CATEGORIES Direct marketing is meant to speak directly to you, the consumer. Apparel and accessories In order to do so, companies need to know about your interests Clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories. and characteristics. Home and gifts Keeping costs down and developing new and better products Home decor, furniture, bedding and bath, linens, lighting and Companies save money and resources by sending direct kitchen accessories, jewelry, seasonal items, collectibles, art marketing only to consumers likely to be interested in the offer. gallery and museum merchandise, wine and wine accessories, Creating, producing and distributing advertisements costs specialty foods and gift food baskets, religious merchandise, money. In fact, companies typically spend at least 5 percent tobacco items and pet supplies. (and in some cases up to 30 percent) of their annual revenue on advertising. Saving companies money on advertising keeps Sports and hobbies costs down for products and services and allows companies to Recreational and sporting equipment, apparel, accessories, focus on developing new and better products for consumers. books and magazines, sports logo merchandise and collectibles, arts and crafts supplies and materials, auto Accessing special offers and promotions parts and accessories. Everyone likes a great deal. Direct marketing is a good way for you to receive frequent shopper benefits and other special Home office and electronics offers and promotions, such as coupons, free trials and early Electronics and accessories, telephones, computer hardware, bird sale notices software, games and accessories, stationery supplies, packages and accessories. Helping small businesses succeed Without the affordable avenue of direct mail, small businesses Garden and outdoor patio wouldn’t be able to advertise and build their business. Small Garden and patio décor and furniture, BBQ grills, garden businesses are the heart of the U.S. economy and provide jobs. and lawn care products, tools and supplies. Helping small businesses succeed increases product and service Media options and contributes to a growing job market. Books and audiobooks, movies, magazines, newsletters, Delivering advertisements you’re interested in music tapes and CDs. Rather than wasting time, paper and money sending you ads Health and beauty you’re not interested in and may even ignore, you will receive Health aids, products, equipment, dietary supplements, ads and information about products you may actually buy. décor, apparel, jewelry and gifts, cosmetics, lotions, Everyone receives some form of mass marketing (such as weekly perfumes, wigs and bath soaps. grocery specials) that are not based on, or related to, what you actually buy. Wouldn’t you rather receive mail advertising for Business merchandise the specific store you shop at? Similarly, while you are browsing Computers, accessories and equipment, cleaning supplies, the internet, the advertisements displayed will be more storage and organization merchandise, safety equipment, personalized, reflecting your specific interests. office supplies and accessories, fax machines, copiers, printers, shredders, gourmet food and gifts, stationery, business logos Reducing the amount of unwanted mail and imprints, business-to-business magazines, newsletters When you receive ads only for only things that interest you, you and trade publications. receive less unwanted mail. For example, you would receive fewer catalogs for home furnishings, children’s apparel and Household demographic, lifestyle interests and real gardening if you are only interested in motorcycles and fishing. property information If it weren’t for targeted mailings, your mailbox might look like the insert section of the Sunday newspaper.

Providing online services Search engine sites (such as Google and Yahoo) are free tools that anyone can use, and this is made possible because they display advertisements to you online. Many internet email accounts are free services because companies allow marketers to show ads to you while you check your email.

3 CONSUMER INFORMATION Guide to Direct Marketing

SELF-REPORTED INFORMATION Email How can I opt out of information sharing? The easiest way to stop unwanted emails is to unsubscribe If you decide you are not interested in the benefits of direct directly from the unwanted email received. There is usually an marketing, you can opt out of receiving marketing offers and unsubscribe link at the bottom of every commercial email, and from having your information shared with companies. There clicking the unsubscribe link will remove you from that advertiser’s are a number of ways to opt out. Unfortunately, there is no email list. You can also visit the company website or send an email universal way to opt out of all of these methods. requesting removal from the email list. You can tell that company to not share your email address with other marketers as well if Postal mail you prefer they don’t. Direct Marketing Association (DMA): The easiest way to opt out of data sharing in the U.S. is to register with the DMA’s Mail Preference Online advertising Service at dmachoice.org. All you have to do is enter your name You can visit the Digital Advertising Alliance at aboutads.info or the and address on this site (which you must update every five years, Network Advertising Initiative at networkadvertising.org. Both sites or when you move or change your name), and companies that are explain how you can prevent the gathering of information about members of the DMA and non-members who use this service will you when browsing the web. remove the matching names and addresses from their databases You also have the option of setting your browser to notify you when that are used to send marketing materials to prospect consumers. internet technologies gather information about you, and you can Not all marketing companies utilize the DMA list, so registering with then decide whether or not to allow the gathering. Or, you can this site will not eliminate all unwanted mail, but it will likely reduce change your browser settings to prevent information gathering. the amount. Epsilon is a member of the DMA and we utilize the Mail Below are links to information on managing preferences with Preference Service. The DMA also allows you to register deceased common browsers: family members who may still be receiving mail. Google Chrome: To receive less direct marketing mail in Canada, you can register http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer. through the Canadian Marketing Association’s Do Not Mail Service py?hl=en&answer=95647 at the-cma.org/consumers/do-not-mail. Mozilla Firefox: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Enabling%20and%20 Telemarketing disabling%20cookies The U.S. maintains a National Do Not Call Registry. You can register your personal telephone number(s) so that you do not receive Microsoft Internet Explorer: telemarketing calls from for-profit companies. By law, marketers http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/delete- must refrain from contacting you if you have submitted your manage-cookies#ie=ie-11-win-7 number to the Do Not Call list. Safari: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411 Website: donotcall.gov

Canadian residents can register for the National Do Not Call list at lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/index-eng.

These national lists do not apply to certain organizations, such as nonprofit, political or polling organizations.

If you already have a business relationship with a company because you purchased from the company or asked for information, you will need to contact the company directly and ask that they no longer contact you by telephone for marketing purposes.

If you receive an unwanted telemarketing call, you should also tell the caller to place you on the company’s internal Do Not Call list.

4 CONSUMER INFORMATION Guide to Direct Marketing

Individual companies If you are a customer of a particular company and you would rather opt out of their specific marketing mailings, you can contact them directly and ask to be added to their Do Not Mail list. The DMA list described above does not apply to companies where you are already a customer, therefore you must contact the company directly. You may also ask a company not to share your contact information with third parties for marketing purposes. This means that if you like receiving a catalog from a gardening company but do not want that company to share your name and address with other companies (such as auto supply companies or children’s apparel companies), you can contact the gardening company directly and ask to be placed on their Do Not Share list.

By opting out of information sharing, will all unwanted marketing offers stop? No. By following the steps above, you will see a reduction in unwanted marketing offers, but it won’t stop all of them. It may take several weeks or months for an opt-out to go into effect, depending on the planning cycle for the marketing offer.

Advertisers begin their process several months in advance of actually sending a mail piece, so your name and address may have been provided before you opted out.

There are many companies similar to Epsilon that gather information about consumers, and your information may be gathered and shared by a number of different companies for similar marketing purposes. List renting and exchanging is legal and has been a common marketing practice for many years.